In the last GP of Japan, and without many changes for the GP of Bahrain next weekend, Fernando Alonso finished in Suzuka in 11th position for most of the session, only overtaking Pierre Gasly at the start of the race. This, while waiting for an opportunity to make his debut that has not arrived and that will last until the Shakir event.
Fernando Alonso continues to put pressure on Aston Martin: an urgent need to move forward
Despite this, the Aston Martin driver emphasized that it is his first full race since the start of the 2025 season, and admits that they still have work to do on the AMR25. A reality that, without being entirely new, does address the imperative need to move forward, to do something on Aston Martin’s part if they do not want to be ostracized this year.
Because for the third consecutive time, the AMR25 offered no competitive edge against its midfield rivals, such as Haas, Racing Bulls and Williams. So its starting point, to become the fifth best car in 2025, now seems even more devalued.
Not surprisingly, Lance Stroll started last on the grid and also crossed the finish line at the bottom of the table. The Canadian, without even having a chance against Gabriel Bortoleto’s Sauber, was the only one lapped by Max Verstappen.
“We’re not fast enough to be in the top 18”
“The truth is that we are not fast enough to be in the top 10, I guess we are not fast enough to be in the top 18,” the driver began. ‘So being 11th was a small miracle because the car felt average throughout the race,’ the Spaniard said.
Despite these obvious shortcomings, Aston Martin’s top brass remain calm. “This is part of the learning process,” explained Andy Cowell, CEO of the Silverstone team, confident of “applying these lessons” next weekend at the Bahrain GP.
The repeated promises of development will be examined next Sunday in Sakhir, the venue for the pre-season tests. One of those tracks that measures the overall performance of the cars although, of course, very different positions are not expected, as Fernando Alonso himself stressed.
“A race that will not be remembered, but it is undoubtedly a good race on a personal level and that always leaves you with a good feeling,” he said. With that, the Asturian managed for the first time in 2025 to finish a race, although the sensations do not point to an improvement with respect to last year or for the future. The Asturian clung on to a creditable eleventh place and, once again, squeezed the maximum out of a car that still shows no signs of being up to scratch.
A two-tenths boost
However, if these first races of the year are demonstrating anything, it is that equality is more present than ever on the grid. You only have to look at the data from this Saturday in Japan to see that, in just a couple of tenths, there are many teams. Aston Martin is in the middle zone and, of course, the objective is to lead it. Especially since the distance to the top four will be very difficult to close.
So Alonso has already started thinking about what they can do to improve. There are no improvements yet, because it’s early days, but he does hope there will be in the next few races. Nor do they need a half-second jump, in the words of the Spaniard, but rather a two-tenths push that will allow them to breathe easy and try to differentiate themselves from the rest of that middle zone, with Haas, Racing Bulls, Alpine and Williams very close.